Gold industry sees prices rising to $1,532/oz over 12 months

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewellery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma

BOSTON (Reuters) - The price of gold is expected to rise to $1,532 an ounce by October next year, delegates to the London Bullion Market Association’s annual gathering predicted on Tuesday.

A poll of delegates at the LBMA conference in Boston also predicted higher prices in a year’s time for silver, platinum and palladium.

Spot gold XAU= has had a difficult few months, falling from a high of $1,366.07 in January to as low as $1,159.96 in August as the dollar strengthened and the U.S. Federal Reserve pushed ahead with interest rate rises.

But it has since clawed back to around $1,225 an ounce as volatility on global stock markets revived interest in bullion as a safe place to store assets.

A stronger dollar hurts gold prices by making it more expensive for buyers with other currencies. Higher interest rates make gold, which offers no yield, less attractive.

The poll also showed that delegates expect silver prices XAG= to rise to $15 an ounce by the end of October 2019 from around $14.50 on Tuesday.

Platinum prices XPT= were forecast to increase to $1,010 an ounce over the next year from around $835 on Tuesday and palladium XPD= was expected to rise to $1,195 from around $1,075.

Analysts and traders polled by Reuters this month said they expected gold prices to average $1,300 an ounce in 2019, silver to average $16.40, platinum to average $875 and palladium to average $1,025. [nL8N1X59DJ] [nL8N1X59GF]